1. The Normal Heart takes place during the start of the modern AIDs epidemic in New York City, from 1981-1984. The play covers the life of Ned Weeks – the co-president of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis non-profit organization – as he and his friends (and partner) try and seek public support for the research and treatment of HIV/AIDs. Ned also deals with the fractured relationship with his straight brother, who placed him in psychotherapy to treat his sexuality as a mental illness. Throughout the course of The Normal Heart, Ned confronts his perception of himself in gay culture, and faces the stigma associated with who he is in the 1980s.
2. The intrusion happens midway, and is Felix revealing the spot on his foot that “keeps getting bigger and won’t stop growing”. Felix is showing one of the AIDs-identifying symptoms of Kaposi’s sarcoma – blue/purple patches that Dr. Brookner uses to confirm a case. This is what heightens the “costs” of the plot and escalates the pace rapidly as Felix deteriorates and Ned becomes more erratic, eventually resulting in him being kicked out of the GMHC by Bruce.
3. This is the day that Ned decides to reveal his experiences through 1981-1984 dealing with the death of his friends in the AIDs epidemic and with trying to find a political voice for the struggle of gay men in New York.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
Will Ned be able to find a public political “voice” that will listen to him?
When does the general public start acknowledging the epidemic in New York?
Do Ned and Ben reconcile beyond their hug? Does Ben finally understand his brother?
5. The exposition that everyone knows is seen in Bruce remaining closeted about his identity and the tension between his identity as a soldier and his position as a prominent bank professional in New York. This is a frequent arguing point between Bruce and Ned as Ned feels that Bruce is “selling out” his people and himself, and that he is buying into the stigma that the rest of society puts on him. Ned claims that Bruce doesn’t care as much or does not recognize the urgency as much as Ned does – who is abrasive and upfront about his disdain about the City’s lack of recognition of gay men’s health.
Exposition that not all characters know and is revealed during the play include’s Bruce’s experience of Albert’s death. Bruce reveals that he had to overcome police and public health blocks to help Albert see his mother (who did not know he was gay) one last time before he died of AIDs-related complications. Bruce details the dementia that overtook Albert, the other flight members that looked on them as if they were making a public scene and were pariahs, and the fact that no hospital member would remove the body and take it to a mortician. Bruce and Albert’s mother had to pay individuals to remove him and to cremate him.
6. I think that one of the most theatrical moments in the play is Bruce revealing the details of Albert’s death and his experience in trying to get him home to his mother. Bruce reveals that New York police initially refused to allow them to get on the play to fly, and that Albert immediately was taken by medical professionals as soon as they landed. Bruce heartbreakingly says that Albert forgot who and where he was during the flight and did not recognize Albert. Albert’s psychotic break and dementia are ended only by his abrupt death soon after he sees his mother – who was not even aware of his sexuality and who he was not close with. Bruce’s story is dramatic and touching because throughout The Normal Heart, Ned accuses him of not being aware or sidelining himself because he is ashamed of his community and himself. However, this reveals that Bruce is painfully experienced in the reality of AIDs and blames himself for Albert (and Craig’s) death. Albert’s death also highlights the dignity that seemed impossible to have and was not accorded to those suffering during the 1980s.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Gay stigma and marginalization from larger society
Individual gay identities (negotiating “competing” obligations to societal roles)
Chosen families versus biological families
Frustration and impersonal bureaucracy
Love and relationships
8. Throughout the play, Ned makes it his personal mission to strive for broader recognition of the AIDs epidemic rampaging the New York gay community. Ned creates the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, pleads with his brother’s law firm to take them on as a pro bono charity case, sponsors fundraising dances, and repeatedly makes public statements condemning the New York City mayor (and broader political figures) for failing to recognize what is happening. Ned’s major obstacles include the mindset of the mayor himself (and those around him) that say that the epidemic does not have enough concrete information or that gay politics would be “career poison” to discuss publicly. Ned’s brother, too, is hesitant to help and his law firm only takes on the group after Ned lobbies other board members while Ben is more passive. Ned’s wants frequently align with Dr. Brookner’s wants, as she tries desperately to get gay men to recognize the dangers that sex poses to them until federal disease funding can reveal more about this “gay cancer”. Ned’s obstacles against his brother represent “me versus an individual”, but all other hurdles are “me against society” as he is still confronting his own feelings about the gay community in relation to passive straight politicians. Underlying all of this is Ned’s desire for love, which he finds tragically with Felix but is cut short because of Felix’s diagnosis of AIDs. Consistent conversations between the two discuss that they “lost so much time” and how they would have felt differently if they had this when they were young. Ned’s obstacle here could be seen as “me against fate” (by how he sees it), but in reality, it could also be “me against society” because Felix’s death – and all of the other AIDs-related deaths – result from the “invisibility” that they had during the 1980s.
9. The title of The Normal Heart comes form W. H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939” poem written in the wake of World War II (with the title being the date of the German invasion of Poland). Auden discusses a “dishonest decade” full of “anger and fear” and obsessing the private lives of all people. The most famous line in the poem concludes with “we either love each other or die”. Auden’s proclamation is historically set to discuss anti-war sentiments he may have had and were not unusual at the time, or it could have referenced his own sexuality. Kramer selected “the normal heart” line as his title inspiration probably as a mixture of both, with Kramer clearly confronting his own identity in the course of the work and in his real-life activities in the GMHC organization.
One of the most powerful images in The Normal Heart is the use of visible “spots” on AIDs patients to mark those who are ill. This was a medical reality with Kaposi’s sarcoma and its connection to AIDs, but it serves a theatrical parallel to the Biblical lepers who were ostracized from society. The “spots” make lepers out of AIDs victims by members of their own community (“I am already afraid to touch him”/ “Are we supposed to be alone forever?”) and are already societal lepers simply by being gay. The sarcoma spots essentially make the men suffering finally visible, but still fail to get the wider community involved in their struggle. The idea of visibility is associated with death in The Normal Heart, matching up with the reality that by the time AIDs was actually recognized at the federal level, tens of thousands had perished.
10. The only “traditional” family relationships in the play are almost always discussed in alienated or fragmented terms. Many of the characters lament family members who they have purposefully moved away from or who they remain closeted to. Ned is the one major character to have his family – a brother Ben – included in the play but their relationship is fraught with tension. Both lost their parents young and both entered therapy, but Ben still sees Ned’s sexuality as a mental handicap and an “illness” he refuses to accept. Ned also confronts his depression and suicide attempt during college with his brother, which is what prompted Ned’s hospitalization and entrance into psychotherapy.
The more “prominent” family relationships would be the connection between Ned and the rest of the men at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis organization. These men discuss the loss of friends and lovers to AIDs and they serve as each other’s comfort. Bruce, and some others, serve as foils of Ned’s abrasive agenda of direct action and work together to discuss the frustration of being in the gay community and the ignorance of the straight community while they suffer. Ned especially feels frustrated with this “family” as he declares that many “only think with their cocks” and he is not made for a life of casual, meaningless sex and drug use. This is one of the major differences in the book and movie, as the movie leaves one feeling that Ned could reconcile with this “family” after they remove him from the GMHC – and the play largely leaves him only to reconcile with his brother Ben.
1. The Normal Heart takes place during the start of the modern AIDs epidemic in New York City, from 1981-1984. The play covers the life of Ned Weeks – the co-president of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis non-profit organization – as he and his friends (and partner) try and seek public support for the research and treatment of HIV/AIDs. Ned also deals with the fractured relationship with his straight brother, who placed him in psychotherapy to treat his sexuality as a mental illness. Throughout the course of The Normal Heart, Ned confronts his perception of himself in gay culture, and faces the stigma associated with who he is in the 1980s.
2. The intrusion happens midway, and is Felix revealing the spot on his foot that “keeps getting bigger and won’t stop growing”. Felix is showing one of the AIDs-identifying symptoms of Kaposi’s sarcoma – blue/purple patches that Dr. Brookner uses to confirm a case. This is what heightens the “costs” of the plot and escalates the pace rapidly as Felix deteriorates and Ned becomes more erratic, eventually resulting in him being kicked out of the GMHC by Bruce.
3. This is the day that Ned decides to reveal his experiences through 1981-1984 dealing with the death of his friends in the AIDs epidemic and with trying to find a political voice for the struggle of gay men in New York.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
5. The exposition that everyone knows is seen in Bruce remaining closeted about his identity and the tension between his identity as a soldier and his position as a prominent bank professional in New York. This is a frequent arguing point between Bruce and Ned as Ned feels that Bruce is “selling out” his people and himself, and that he is buying into the stigma that the rest of society puts on him. Ned claims that Bruce doesn’t care as much or does not recognize the urgency as much as Ned does – who is abrasive and upfront about his disdain about the City’s lack of recognition of gay men’s health.
Exposition that not all characters know and is revealed during the play include’s Bruce’s experience of Albert’s death. Bruce reveals that he had to overcome police and public health blocks to help Albert see his mother (who did not know he was gay) one last time before he died of AIDs-related complications. Bruce details the dementia that overtook Albert, the other flight members that looked on them as if they were making a public scene and were pariahs, and the fact that no hospital member would remove the body and take it to a mortician. Bruce and Albert’s mother had to pay individuals to remove him and to cremate him.
6. I think that one of the most theatrical moments in the play is Bruce revealing the details of Albert’s death and his experience in trying to get him home to his mother. Bruce reveals that New York police initially refused to allow them to get on the play to fly, and that Albert immediately was taken by medical professionals as soon as they landed. Bruce heartbreakingly says that Albert forgot who and where he was during the flight and did not recognize Albert. Albert’s psychotic break and dementia are ended only by his abrupt death soon after he sees his mother – who was not even aware of his sexuality and who he was not close with. Bruce’s story is dramatic and touching because throughout The Normal Heart, Ned accuses him of not being aware or sidelining himself because he is ashamed of his community and himself. However, this reveals that Bruce is painfully experienced in the reality of AIDs and blames himself for Albert (and Craig’s) death. Albert’s death also highlights the dignity that seemed impossible to have and was not accorded to those suffering during the 1980s.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
8. Throughout the play, Ned makes it his personal mission to strive for broader recognition of the AIDs epidemic rampaging the New York gay community. Ned creates the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, pleads with his brother’s law firm to take them on as a pro bono charity case, sponsors fundraising dances, and repeatedly makes public statements condemning the New York City mayor (and broader political figures) for failing to recognize what is happening. Ned’s major obstacles include the mindset of the mayor himself (and those around him) that say that the epidemic does not have enough concrete information or that gay politics would be “career poison” to discuss publicly. Ned’s brother, too, is hesitant to help and his law firm only takes on the group after Ned lobbies other board members while Ben is more passive. Ned’s wants frequently align with Dr. Brookner’s wants, as she tries desperately to get gay men to recognize the dangers that sex poses to them until federal disease funding can reveal more about this “gay cancer”. Ned’s obstacles against his brother represent “me versus an individual”, but all other hurdles are “me against society” as he is still confronting his own feelings about the gay community in relation to passive straight politicians. Underlying all of this is Ned’s desire for love, which he finds tragically with Felix but is cut short because of Felix’s diagnosis of AIDs. Consistent conversations between the two discuss that they “lost so much time” and how they would have felt differently if they had this when they were young. Ned’s obstacle here could be seen as “me against fate” (by how he sees it), but in reality, it could also be “me against society” because Felix’s death – and all of the other AIDs-related deaths – result from the “invisibility” that they had during the 1980s.
9. The title of The Normal Heart comes form W. H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939” poem written in the wake of World War II (with the title being the date of the German invasion of Poland). Auden discusses a “dishonest decade” full of “anger and fear” and obsessing the private lives of all people. The most famous line in the poem concludes with “we either love each other or die”. Auden’s proclamation is historically set to discuss anti-war sentiments he may have had and were not unusual at the time, or it could have referenced his own sexuality. Kramer selected “the normal heart” line as his title inspiration probably as a mixture of both, with Kramer clearly confronting his own identity in the course of the work and in his real-life activities in the GMHC organization.
One of the most powerful images in The Normal Heart is the use of visible “spots” on AIDs patients to mark those who are ill. This was a medical reality with Kaposi’s sarcoma and its connection to AIDs, but it serves a theatrical parallel to the Biblical lepers who were ostracized from society. The “spots” make lepers out of AIDs victims by members of their own community (“I am already afraid to touch him”/ “Are we supposed to be alone forever?”) and are already societal lepers simply by being gay. The sarcoma spots essentially make the men suffering finally visible, but still fail to get the wider community involved in their struggle. The idea of visibility is associated with death in The Normal Heart, matching up with the reality that by the time AIDs was actually recognized at the federal level, tens of thousands had perished.
10. The only “traditional” family relationships in the play are almost always discussed in alienated or fragmented terms. Many of the characters lament family members who they have purposefully moved away from or who they remain closeted to. Ned is the one major character to have his family – a brother Ben – included in the play but their relationship is fraught with tension. Both lost their parents young and both entered therapy, but Ben still sees Ned’s sexuality as a mental handicap and an “illness” he refuses to accept. Ned also confronts his depression and suicide attempt during college with his brother, which is what prompted Ned’s hospitalization and entrance into psychotherapy.
The more “prominent” family relationships would be the connection between Ned and the rest of the men at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis organization. These men discuss the loss of friends and lovers to AIDs and they serve as each other’s comfort. Bruce, and some others, serve as foils of Ned’s abrasive agenda of direct action and work together to discuss the frustration of being in the gay community and the ignorance of the straight community while they suffer. Ned especially feels frustrated with this “family” as he declares that many “only think with their cocks” and he is not made for a life of casual, meaningless sex and drug use. This is one of the major differences in the book and movie, as the movie leaves one feeling that Ned could reconcile with this “family” after they remove him from the GMHC – and the play largely leaves him only to reconcile with his brother Ben.